KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Kalamazoo Mayor Bobby Hopewell and City Commissioner Eric Cunningham both made a special presentation to those in attendance of the City Council meeting Monday night.
Cunningham and Hopewell both presented two gifts from Numazu, Japan, which has been a Sister City of Kalamazoo for over 50 years.
“Numazu and Kalamazoo, for the last 56 years, have been in a partnership where we either A, go visit them every two years, or B, they come and visit us every two years,” Cunningham said. “Initially, this relationship was built out of business opportunity. It has grown into what is called a ‘cultural exchange.’”
Commissioner Cunningham talked at length about his experiences in Numazu.
“In 2015 when I first served as a city commissioner, I received the opportunity to go over to Numazu and took advantage of it,” Cunningham said. “At that time, I questioned what is a cultural exchange?…Upon engulfing myself in this experience, I had never been to a country that just thought, operated, [and] conducted in such a vastly different way than here in the United States.”
The gifts were two pieces of art, a painting made with unconventional methods and a wood block print.
“The [wood block print] is a gift to our actual Numazu Sister City Committee,” Cunnigham said. “The [painting] is an actual gift to the City of Kalamazoo. The unique thing about [the painting] is that it looks like paint, but it is actually not paint. It is little pieces of paper that created that entire vision, so the artist was very talented and unique. Once again, we are very appreciative of this relationship.”
Mayor Hopewell also talked about his experiences in Numazu during the presentation.
“The people of Numazu, the government there, the Numazu committee, and certainly our host families take very much pride in having us come and be a part of their culture and a part of their community,” Hopewell said. “It is a distinct honor, and they honor us in so many ways that I’m not used to…They are very attentive to all of us when we are on this major cultural exchange, so we’re hoping that we can be as attentive as well to them when they come next summer and participate and get involved in Kalamazoo.”
Hopewell is encouraging future commissioners to take advantage of the opportunity to visit Numazu if possible.
“It was an honor to attend this with my two friends and colleagues, and I hope that if you have the opportunity, Commissioners, that you take the opportunity to participate in the Numazu exchange.”
City Manager Jim Ritsema is currently tasked with finding a good display area for the gifts.
